About the Hoof & Mouth Connection

Dental health is as important as hoof health.

You cannot have whole body health in your horse without both!

Hoof health mirrors dental health and vice versa. You cannot have one be healthy without the other being healthy.

Understanding the complexity and relationships of the cranial nerves, vascular system, teeth, TMJ, and vestibular system is critical to your horse's health and well being.

There are only a handful of knowledgeable, skilled practitioners like Karina in the world who understand completely, the hoof & mouth, anatomy, nervous and vascular system connection that is vital to horses and their health/performance.

The importance of this connection cannot be understated! Yet it is the single most misunderstood connection in horse health care today!

Karina is both a natural hoof and rehabilitation specialist AND an equine dentist. Karina is skilled in the use of power tools and protocols that come with being certified. She uses state of the art water cooling equipment and has over 28 years experience.

The horse is magnificently and uniquely designed.

The horse requires nerve stimulation from the movement of its jaws and mastication of teeth to survive.

Understanding the relationship of this vital relationship is key to maintaining a horse's optimum health/balance.

The nervous system is uniquely tied to its proprioception (or way of going).

Proprioception begins in the teeth and jaws, and transfers through neural pathways in the cranial nerves, TMJ joint, and into the body.

What this means is that your horse cannot have whole body/hoof health with out ALL of these systems in balance.

Good hoof and dental health are synonymous to whole health!

BEFORE

Temporal & orbital lobe swelling is a symptom of the misalignment of the horse's dental grind. It is also a sign your horse is in extreme pain.

Horses rely on nerve interaction and stimulation from their teeth to tell their body how to function. This relationship is necessary for whole horse health. Horses that have had their dental grind interrupted are at risk for a multitude of issues.

Not only is dental grind important to the horse being able to masticate food, it is vital to the horse's digestion, muscle stimulus, natural movement, bodily functions and more.

Horses who have had their natural dental grind compromised will experience a plethora of symptoms,. These are (but not limited to):

1. Tripping & balance issues

2. Head tossing

3. Dropping feed

4. Dropping weight

5. Disorientation (dizziness)

6. Founder, laminitis, insulin resistance

7. Behavioral issues such as being hard to catch, watchy

8. Rearing

9. Bucking or Kicking

Some horses who have had their dental grind disengaged are misdiagnosed! Karina has worked on cases of disengaged dental grind that have been misdiagnosed as EPM, Lyme, behavioral or training issues, abnormal balance or gait changes, rearing, dangerous behaviors, farrier issues, etc.

12 HOURS LATER

Karina specializes in natural equine dentistry. She is also a certificate holder in traditional equine dentistry and skilled in the use of power tools. The difference between traditional and natural dentistry is that a natural procedure can often be done without sedation and can instantaneously relieve pain and restore important bodily functions your horse requires!

However, sometimes horses are in pain from issues beyond the reach of hand floating and in this case, Karina is also a skilled practitioner.

Every procedure is done gently, as needed on a case by case basis, allowing the horse to communicate its needs as she works.

Yes, most horses readily accept her probing molars, incisors, making adjustments with floats and more! Many owners witness their horses making obvious efforts to communicate their needs!

Karina understands both traditional & natural dentistry. She uses her experience and tools as needed to re-align the horse mindful of not taking excessive tooth surface(s), over-heating the tooth (teeth) or burning of nerve roots. All common, traumatic side effects of practitioner error.

Treatments are administered with the horse's head lowered, not inverted as is common. This preserves and or helps to restore the horse's natural vestibule processes. Preserving natural, optimum posture of the head and neck for balance and unimpaired nerve stimulation is vital.

Karina's dentistry's goals are to influence the linear connection of the 3 junctions that affect a horse's whole body:

Poll-Atlas, Neck-Shoulders & withers, and Hind end junction.

The process is gentle while the horse is floated in its most natural position with care applied to aligning the horses' incisor angles to balance with the Temporal Mandibular Joint (TMJ) - decompressing the TMJ, cranial nerves and muscles.

Karina's process opens congested neural and vascular pathways almost immediately in most cases.

Frequently Asked Questions

Please reach us at hoofmedix@gmail.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.

How often does my horse need to have its teeth floated?

Proper dental work is essential and so is critical judgement about when or if your horse needs dental work. Today, power tools make it way too easy to remove too much dental enamel, completely disengaging dental grind and exposing your horse to traumatic injury. Horses are born with the teeth they are to have for their entire lives. These teeth slowly erupt over the horse's life cycle. Power dentistry can damage the teeth, overheat the teeth, damage nerves and remove too much enamel, prematurely aging your horse by promoting premature tooth loss and disengaging the vital dental grind. Horses do not always need dentals every year or even before the age of 5 or 6. Call for your consult. If your horse needs dental work, Karina will perform the work and charge accordingly. If not, you will only pay for the examination and farm call. Good dentistry work is essential to your horses well being!

Is dropping food the only sign of unhealthy teeth?

No. There are a number of health issues that can be determined and caught early! Mineral deficiencies, toxicities, cavities, hooks, waves, ramps, infected teeth, missing teeth, impactions, infections, disengaged dental grind are all serious problems. They are not always demonstrated by the horse dropping its feed. A proper dental exam and alignment is necessary to keep you horse's hooves, top-line, muscle definition, body score, digestion and behaviors healthy!

What are signs my horse needs dental care?

If your horse is insulin resistant, been diagnosed with EPM, Lyme or has founder or laminitis, loss of weight, is overweight, has difficulty eating, head tossing, serious behavioral or balance issues, trips frequently, will not stand quietly, colics, has allergies, suffers muscle tremors, balance issues, is anxious all the time, will not lay down to sleep, etc....your horse may need a dental. Call HOOFMEDIX for your Whole Body Balance Exam. All will be determined in this consult and is a wise investment for long term performance success and health for you and your horse!

MORE Frequently Asked Questions

Please reach us at hoofmedix@gmail.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.

Why Natural Dentistry?

TMJ Alignment and restoration of dental grind is the goal of a good dental. Horses require alignment of not just the molar surfaces but the incisors and TMJ angles as well. Floating a horse’s teeth always affects alignment of the TMJs and the entire spinal column, nuchal ligament, hyoid, poll, occiput and atlas. Laying the foundation for wellness in a horse’s mouth promotes improved health and performance through the whole body. Occlusion patterns, texture and angles in the horse’s teeth affect the alignment and natural rotation of the TMJs, ongoing patterns of eruption and wear, mastication, production of vital digestive enzymes, proper digestion, neuromuscular health and movement through the whole body. During the work the horse stands with freedom of movement in the whole body, and is given frequent breaks to relax, release and reset while adjusting gradually to the changes. Because Natural Horse Dentistry brings a horse’s TMJs and teeth (nervous system) into balanced rotation and wear, less work will need to be done over time in order to maintain dental alignment. This also allows preservation of the teeth. Over floating is the number one reason horses prematurely loose teeth.

Why doesn't my vet or dentist know this?

Veterinary medicine is separate from Equine Dentistry and both are separate experiences from Farrier experience. The industry as a whole is divided into two camps. The natural dentist and traditional equine power float dentistry. Traditional dentistry focuses only on the dental. Natural dentistry focuses on a combined approach to restore and maintain whole body alignment and health. Because the teeth and TMJs affect spinal alignment and tension patterns through the whole body, it is valuable for the horse to have work done that opens critical nerve, blood and sensation pathways essential to the horses' natural, healthy way of being, the most important of which is its proprioception, or movement. Horses given a proper dental will come into alignment naturally on their own but an understanding of the nervous system and hoof care can be a powerful catalyst for long term, positive results.

This is not to say that power floating is bad. It is just one of the options and Karina offers both in addition to an in depth knowledge and understanding of the horse's anatomy and hooves that may or may not be available from other practitioners. Karina's Body Balance sessions involve specific releases for the TMJs, hyoid, poll, neck and front end connections, withers and hind end, initiating movement through the entire spine and mobilizing the lumbosacral and pelvic junction areas. The releases offered in her HOOFMEDIX work will initiate the letting go of tension patterns throughout the body, nervous, the stomatognathic system and the craniosacral connections.

What should I know about Natural dentistry vs. Power Floating?

A competent Natural Dentistry practitioner will exercise care when working with your horse, establishing communication to help the horse relax and communicate its needs. The natural dentistry does not rely on sedation or a halter or dental stand. The natural dental does not strive to to elevate the head. The natural dental is performed with the horse aligned and adjusted with its head in a more natural position. When the head of a sedated horse is elevated the bottom jaw (mandible) moves backward which can greatly effect the efficacy of the dentistry and overall, may cause injury to the horse. A proficient dentistry (either power or natural) will align your horse's incisor angle to align naturally with the TMJ. This allows the cranial nerves and the veins, capillaries and arteries to function normally. Eyesight and hearing, balance and health are all impacted by the dental health of your horse. What you may want to know and remember most is that EVERYTHING about your horse is impacted by its hoof and dental health.

Power floating does rely (traditionally) on sedation. The horse's head is suspended either on a cradle or from a hanging halter during the procedure. When a horse is sedated it cannot communicate its needs. The dentistry relies on the efficacy of the practitioner.

Common errors that can occur during power floating is overheating of the dental pulp, nerves and tooth (teeth). Over time this can lead to premature tooth loss. It is also possible that too much tooth can be removed during Power floating leading to issues with your horse's balance due to disengaged dental grind, issues with the TMJ, proprioception and more.